I was about to convey my confusion about the scandal involving an odalisque being spotted on stage at CPAC.
So... just to confirm... I DuckDuckWent "odalisque" to confirm my recollection that it meant a painting of a reclining nude, or something to that effect, which I believe was the common meaning in Western usage a few years ago.
Seems that meaning has been purged from the Newspeak dictionary; it now means a female slave or a concubine, with a usage example claiming that it's an image depicting the subjugation of a black woman. (Funny how just about all the subjects of the paintings that turn up in an image search are of the white persuasion.)
(Digging out an old paper dictionary, I find that this isn't strictly a new thing; said dictionary doesn't mention the art meaning either. No room on the page for the term, as it were, of art? Or nudes were too naughty for inclusion, even by reference?)
Interestingly, Wikipedia doesn't include the art definition either... but the page is festooned with examples of the artistic form.
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